


In the Ruins of the Moon

by diamondstorm102



Category: Death Note & Related Fandoms, Death Note (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Yagami Light Is Not Kira (Death Note), Angst, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Murder, My First Fanfic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Tags Are Hard, Warnings May Change, i don’t know what i’m doing, slow
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 15:00:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/diamondstorm102/pseuds/diamondstorm102
Summary: Light Yagami is the only surviving member of his family after a frightening murder. One year later he is picked up by Wammy’s House where he soon meets L. What will happen now?
Relationships: L & Yagami Light, L/Yagami Light, Matt | Mail Jeevas & Mello | Mihael Keehl & Near | Nate River, Matt | Mail Jeevas & Yagami Light, Mello | Mihael Keehl & Yagami Light, Near | Nate River & Yagami Light
Comments: 6
Kudos: 61





	1. Chapter 1

? POV 

It was supposed to be a happy day. We were supposed to celebrate my 9th birthday. My family was going to take me to the park and we were going to buy my present, a new chemistry kit after my old one had broken a few months ago. This wasn’t supposed to happen. _This wasn’t supposed to happen!_ **THIS WASN’T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will include depictions of murder and death. It is nothing too graphic but if this is triggering for you feel free to skip to the end. There will be a brief summary of the chapter in the notes. 
> 
> Also, the italicized part in this chapter is a flashback.
> 
> Enjoy!

On February 28, 1995, two police officers arrived at the home of the Yagami family after neighbors had heard screaming coming from the residence. The officers proceeded to enter the house after getting no response and finding the front door was unlocked. What they found was Chief Soichiro Yagami lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, a knife sticking out of his stomach. He was declared dead at 6:23 AM. Once the body of Mr. Yagami was found, the officers decided to call for backup. The two officers then made their way through the house, trying to find the rest of the family while waiting for the other officers to arrive. 

By the time the backup and a crime scene investigator had arrived, the body of Sachiko Yagami had been found stabbed to death in the upstairs hallway and Sayu Yagami, who at the time had been only five years old, was found strangled in her bed. The police began to investigate the scene and declared that the whole family had been killed by the same murderer, no one survived. One officer, however, who had only been on the force for a few months, realized that someone was missing from the bodies of the Yagami family. After telling his superior, a search began to find nine-year-old Light Yagami. Twenty minutes later Light was found terrified and crying quietly in the back of the closet in his parent’s room. 

Light was sent to a hospital shortly after being found in order to check him for any injuries and to try and keep him safe (in case the perpetrator came back). About an hour after being checked, two detectives were led into Light’s room by a nurse.

“Hello Light. I am Detective Isamu Ohta and this is my partner Tadao Nagao. We are going to need to ask you a few questions. You feel up to it?” Light hesitated, but the man gave Light a kind smile, trying to silently reassure the boy that everything will be alright. After receiving a small nod from the boy, Detective Isamu sat down in a chair next to Light’s bed while his partner stood silently by the door. 

“Thank you for cooperating with me Light,” Isamu said. “Now, do you remember anything that happened? Anything that could possibly help us?” Light suddenly went still, a haunted and faraway look in his eyes.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

_Light had woken up to the sound of his dad yelling downstairs. Light was worried but he thought that maybe his dad was just mad at a coworker or something, so he tried to go back to sleep. Suddenly, his mom ran in and grabbed his hand, pulling him out of his bed and toward her bedroom. He tried to talk but she kept telling him to stay quiet. Now Light was really worried. Once in his parent’s bedroom, his mom opened the closet door, and after quickly moving some clothes and boxes out of the way, shoved Light inside. Light turned around and looked back at his mom who had tears running down her face._

_“Mom? What’s wrong? Why are you crying?”_

_His mom quietly shushed him saying, “Light no matter what happens, or what you hear, do not leave this closet. Stay quiet and stay safe.”_

_“Mom I don’t understand. What is happening?!”_

_Light looked into his mom’s eyes to see nothing but love and sadness. “Light,” she said, “No matter what happens I want you to know that I will always love you. You are my little boy, my little light in this world. Live for me.”_

_His mom then put the clothes and boxes back in front of Light, successfully hiding him from view._

_The last thing Light ever heard his mother say was, “I hope I will be back soon Light. I love you.” Then it all went dark._

_Sachiko Yagami left her bedroom to head towards the room of her youngest child. Before she could make it though, she was stabbed in the back._

_Light stayed in the closet for over an hour as he silently cried, listening to the sounds of the intruder walking around the house, and Light knew that he was looking for him. At one point the closet was opened and Light was frozen as he felt the killer kicking the boxes that were hiding Light from view. Eventually the person left, slamming the closet door and then the front door seemingly out of frustration._

—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

Light was brought out of his memories to the feeling of someone shaking his arm gently. He looked up (which was weird because he didn’t remember ever looking down) to see the slightly worried face of Detective Isamu.

“Are you alright?” he asked. “You zoned for a bit and started crying.”

Light reached up to find that there were tears rolling down his cheeks. He looked away and quickly wiped them away with his hands and tried to compose himself. After a few minutes he returned his gaze to the detective and started to tell his story. It took about thirty minutes for Light to tell the detectives what he knew, but afterwards he felt a little better. The whole time Light had been talking he had been thinking that, ‘Maybe this is how I can help. If I tell them everything I can, they can bring my family’s killer to justice soon.’ 

Light quickly found out, however, that the world isn’t so kind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We find out what fate met the Yagami family and how Light survived the killer by hiding in a closet. Detective Isamu Ohta and his partner Tadao Nagao question Light about what happened to his family.
> 
> By the way, I am writing names like in English, so first name and then last name. If this bothers anyone let me know and I can go back and change it.
> 
> \- Diamond
> 
> P.S. If anyone has any ideas for chapter titles let me know


	3. Chapter 3

Lights POV 

The date is June 14, 1996. It has been exactly 1 year, 3 months, and 18 days (or 472 days) since my entire family was murdered. No killer has been found and the case was declared cold. I am also stuck in the Kumiko Orphanage, one of the most boring and possibly the worst places I’ve ever been in my entire (although short) life.

I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to be stuck here, going to boring classes, dealing with bullies and nightmares, wishing everyday that something will change or there is an update on my family’s case, only to find out that there is none. In the words of the one officer I talked to when I had managed to sneak out and make it to the station one day, “There never will be any updates so just forget about it.” Motivational right. And if he somehow got fired a few days later after an anonymous tip provided information that he was taking part in selling illegal drugs and leaking police information, we’ll never know.

Sometimes, in those rare moments when my mind wanders, I wonder if I could make a difference. If I could grow up and be like L, the world famous detective that solves difficult cases and has been my inspiration since I learned about him. I like to imagine that L will solve my family’s case, and if he doesn’t that I will. That the man who ruined my life will get what he deserves. 

But then I’m back. Back in a dingy orphanage with too many bodies in one place. Back in a life of boring classes and no friends. Back in reality, a dark and dismal world where dreams don’t seem to come true.

I shifted my eyes from the window, that I had been absently staring out of while thinking, to the head lady of the orphanage who had just barged into the room. She looks out at the group of almost 20 boys in the room before taking a deep breath and making her announcement. 

“Attention everyone” she said, which was kind of stupid in my opinion as everyone was already giving her their attention. I saw a few kids roll their eyes, mirroring my thoughts. 

“In two days you all will be taking an important test.” Many kids groaned at that and started complaining. She immediately shushed them with a dark glare. “This test is very important,” she continued, “and I want you all to try your hardest. This might be one of the most important moments of your life.”

“Why is it so important?” one boy yelled from the back of the room.

“That is a secret. You just need to know that it is important and you need to do your best.” She then walked out of the room, most likely to go to the other room that held the girls to give them the same speech.

As soon as the sound of her footsteps had disappeared the room exploded with noise, enough to make me want to cover my ears. (I didn’t though because that would be showing _weakness_ ) Everyone was trying to either guess what the test was for, guess what would be on the test, or complaining about having to take a test in the first place. 

In the back of the room I could see a circle of boys around Akio Shirai, the worst bully with the biggest ego in this entire place. His possy, as I like to call them, were yelling and telling everyone how Akio was going to get the highest score, how Akio was the best, how Akio’s name means ‘bright,’ etc. The amount of praise the kid was getting was enough to make me nauseous. The thing though, is that this is normal. Akio Shirai is like a god for most of the kids in here. Anytime I had beat him in anything, which used to be a lot, they acted like I had cheated, Akio wasn’t feeling well, anything really that didn’t admit that I had actually beaten him. Eventually I got sick of their complaints and stopped trying, always making my grades and achievements slightly worse than him (which is a lot worse for me) just so I didn’t have to listen to them. 

But now I have a dilemma. If this test is really so important, should I do bad just so I don’t have to listen to Akio? If I don’t try and I miss an important opportunity I probably will end up regretting it, especially if whatever happens/you get because of the test is something that I want. I guess I will deal with Akio and his followers one more time just so I can see why this test is so important. Oh well…

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 

? POV 

Interesting. Very interesting.


	4. Chapter 4

Light POV

It was safe to say that I was disappointed. Really disappointed. Disappointed to the point that I had to repeat the fact that I was as just saying it once wasn’t enough. After all the hype of how important this test was and how difficult it was supposed to be, I thought it would at least give me something that would take longer than thirty seconds per question to complete. But no. We are 25 minutes into this test out of a 3 hour period and I am already done. 

That is how easy it was. 

I decide to go back and check my answers, even though I don’t really need to. It has now been thirty minutes. I internally groan and try to mentally get myself ready to sit here and do nothing for two and a half hours. I lay my head on my desk and a few minutes later I have fallen asleep.

-=-=-=-

When I woke up the test was only a couple minutes from being over. Almost everyone looked to be finished or close to finishing and I don’t think anyone really noticed that I had fallen asleep. I guess that solved my problem of sitting there bored though. 

Soon a proctor announced we were done and came around to collect all the tests, freeing us from the constraints of our seats. We all return to our rooms to get ready for the rest of the day.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

L POV

I was bored. It was a fact as simple as that. Watari would be gone for another few hours as he is coordinating this year's batch of tests that are taking place at orphanages across Japan, meaning that I have been left by myself in a random (5-star) hotel. 

In order to cure my boredom, I decided that I am going to hack into the cameras of different orphanages that are taking the Wammy’s House test to see if any potential candidates catch my eye. 

I have always been smart, which is one of the reasons why, even though I am only 14, I am already one of the world’s top detectives. Due to this, it was a piece of cake to hack into the poorly secured camera systems in the various orphanage testing rooms. 

_Now I want cake. Especially strawberry cake. I’ll have to ask Watari to get some while he is out._

Back to what is happening. What I’m doing might not even cure my boredom, but I have decided there is around a 73% chance that it will, so here we are.

The first orphanage that I observed had no one that I deemed interesting, just a bunch of snot-nosed, basic brats who I knew wouldn’t make the cut. This pattern continued for probably 4-5 orphanages. 

My boredom was honestly just getting worse at this point so I decided I would observe one last orphanage. If I didn’t see anyone, or anything, interesting I was going to stop and find something else that could alleviate my boredom. 

I scrolled down the list of participating orphanages and picked one at random, quickly skimming through some of the provided information.

**Kumiko Orphanage**

**Location: -----, Japan**

**Current Number of Occupants: 34 (18 M, 16 F)**

No other information that I could see gave the impression of being relevant, so I hacked into the camera system for the orphanage. It seemed they were already 2 hours into the test. The kids that were taking the test appeared to be separated by gender so I observed the females first (they were the first few cameras I had access to). 

After watching for a few minutes and not seeing anyone that caught my eye, or even striking me that they were above average, I switched the camera feeds to the section where the males were taking their tests.

I observed the test takers in the first two rows and found nothing but the same boring and basic children you would see at a normal school/orphanage. I was honestly ready to give up at this point because I thought the rest of the kids were going to be the same. 

That’s when I saw him.

In the 6th row was a young boy with light brown, almost auburn, hair who appeared to be sleeping. It was practically absurd to me that someone would be sleeping during such an important test like Wammy’s. Even if he hadn’t been told what the test was for (which was very likely) the people at the orphanage should have hyped it up enough for everyone to take it seriously. 

I was now very intrigued. 

I load up another screen with the camera feed (leaving the live footage on the original screen) and rewound the recording of the room to the beginning of the test, shortly after all the students had taken their seats. The whole time keeping my eye on the young boy who had captured my interest.

The test started normally. The instructor gave instructions, running through the time the students have, etc. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I fast-forward about 25 minutes. That’s when things started to really get interesting. 

At the 25 minute mark the boy seemed to have finished the test, staring up at the clock with a face that screamed boredom and disappointment. What he was disappointed with, however, I don’t know.

He stared down at the test for a few seconds before going through the test again, looking to be checking his answers. Five minutes later he turns his attention to the clock again. The boy just stared at the clock for probably 2-3 minutes before putting his head down on his desk. A few minutes later he was out, sleeping soundly while his peers continued on with their tests. The other boys became more and more worried in appearance the longer they worked.

I turn my head back over towards the live camera feed. 

The boy was still sleeping and there was only 30 minutes left of the test. A few other kids also appeared to be done, but I don’t think anyone realized yet that this boy was sleeping and had been for some time, too wrapped up in their own little worlds.

I close out of the rewound camera feed and instead begin hacking into the information on the students, something that I had never planned on doing.

_But I am too curious about this young boy._

A couple minutes later and I’m in.

_It seems they at least have some better security around the children’s information than their cameras._

I quickly scroll through the list of orphans, scanning the photos of the different children and trying to find the one from the camera feed. Finally I find the boy near the bottom of the list. 

**Name: Yagami, Light**

**DOB: February 28, 1986**

**Age: 10**

**Sex: Male**

**Current Residence: Kumiko Orphanage**

I’m snapped out of my “investigation” by the sound of the instructor yelling that the test is over and for everyone to stop writing.

I look over to the live camera feed and see that the boy, _no_ , Light Yagami is now awake and getting ready to leave. My thoughts now focused, I swiftly made a copy of his Light’s file, including the parts I had not been able to read yet, and closed out of everything.

_I think I’m going to keep an eye on Light. I’m curious to see how he did on the test as he finished so early and then fell asleep._

A message from Watari pops up on my screen, temporarily distracting me from my thoughts.

**I will be heading back soon.**

**Is there anything you need while I am out?**

I glance towards the computer that I had been on less than a minute ago, my mind wandering for a second before I reply to Watari.

**Some strawberry cake would be appreciated.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven’t been able to tell yet, updates are going to be sporadic. However, I am going to try and get one or two chapters a month from here on.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is some bullying in the middle of Light’s POV so if this makes you uncomfortable feel free to skip from “...Akio and his gang.” to “Alright boys...”
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

Light POV 

It is now June 23. It has been 482 days since my family was killed. It also has been one week since I took a mysterious test that supposedly could be very important for our future. We are supposed to be receiving the results soon and I’m worried. 

_I’m worried._

It might be because of the fact that I have no idea what the test was for, but I just don’t know. I, Light Yagami, does not know something. On top of that, I’ve been having this unexplainable feeling that I needed to have been the best on that test, which is ridiculous because 1, it was super easy and I should get a high score (if not a perfect score), and 2, I have no idea why I would need to have been the best as, like I said before, I don’t know what it was even for.

I take a few breaths to calm myself down. For now I need to focus on surviving another day with Akio and his gang. 

Apparently one of Akio’s goons saw me sleeping during the test and told the rest of the group. Now, that is all they talk about and they love ridiculing me with it. At one point they even brought a blanket into class and put it on me. 

I’m honestly just sick of them.

I can’t wait for the day that I can leave this crummy orphanage so I can start to actually solve my family’s murder and make a difference. I would never tell anyone this, but I’m actually hoping that the test we took will get me out of here, or at least give me the ability to start looking for the killer. It’s a lot to ask for and seems unrealistic, but as the days have passed after the test my hope has just been growing.

Suddenly I feel something collide with my shoulder. I look up from where I was sitting and see Akio looking down at me.

“Hey loser,” he said. “You thinking about how much you suck and how much better I am?”

_He wishes._

“Aw is the little baby not going to say anything.” He smirks and turns to look at the three other boys behind him. “Look guys, little Light is scared.” He turns back to look at me. “Are you going to cry for mommy? Oh wait, you can’t. She’s dead because of you.”

I take a deep breath, trying to keep my anger and tears at bay. _I would never admit it but what he said kind of stung._

“Leave me alone Akio,” I say as calmly as I could.

“Oh? Did I hit a nerve?” Suddenly he pushes me and I fall out of the chair that I was sitting in. His goons started to laugh. Thankfully that is when the head lady walked in. 

“Alright boys. The results are in for the test that you took.” There was excited whispering throughout the room. 

“Quiet! I will be calling a few of you to come to the office to discuss the results. When you hear your name come down.” Her eyes sweep around the room. “Oh, and Light…”

“Yes?”

“Get off the floor please.” She then walks out of the room. 

Some of the boys, mostly Akio’s gang, started to laugh. One boy though, I think his name is Rokuro, came over and helped me up. Once I was standing he gave me a small smile and left to go back to his friends.

Five minutes later the first boy is called down to the office. He comes back only a few minutes later with a sad look on his face before he walks over to his friends. This happens with two others. Then Akio gets called. He stands up with a smug look on his face and seems to strut out of the room, his goons all cheering and clapping behind him. 

We waited.

And waited..

And waited...

As the time that Akio was gone became longer, I could feel my nervousness grow. I started to internally freak out a little. _Did he actually do better than me? There’s no way, I actually tried this time. The test was pretty easy though._

Finally, Akio comes back after fifteen minutes has passed. The look on his face was weird. It wasn’t sadness like the other people that had been called, but it wasn’t exactly happiness either. _Did he not win then?_

“Yo Akio! What happened?!” one of the boys yelled. 

Akio got his smug look back. “Apparently I did really well and I’m sure that I won. They said they wanted to talk to one more person, however. Didn’t tell me who they are though.” 

This piqued my interest. _Does that mean I have a chance?_

The static of the ancient announcement system was heard and a voice started to speak. 

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

L POV 

This is so annoying. I know I pretty much had begged Watari to allow me to come with him when he went to Kumiko Orphanage, but this is just torture. 

The way the process works is the top five scorers on the exam get to “move on” in a way. The Top Five are each put in an interview so that they can be better assessed for their personality and any other traits that could make them good candidates for Wammy’s. Then the best candidate is given the choice to join Wammy’s House or not.

I had decided that I wanted to tag along with Watari when he went to Kumiko Orphanage for a “learning experience,” and totally not because I wanted to meet and learn more about that boy from the exam. _No way_.

Interestingly the top scorers had all been boys for this orphanage. Though I guess it isn’t all too uncommon since last year there was an orphanage where the top scorers were all girls. I digress however. 

The first three candidates were so incredibly boring. I could tell when they walked in that even Watari knew they wouldn’t pass the cut. And I was right of course.

Then the fourth boy came in. The second highest scorer named Akio Shirai. 

_I hate him already._

Something about this kid rubs me the wrong way and he hasn’t even started talking. Might have something to do with the fact that he practically walked in here like he owns the place.

He quickly greets us before sitting down.

“Who is that?” he said while pointing a finger over towards me.

I see from the corner of my eye that Watari’s smile seemed to falter for a second. He recovers quickly and says, “This is one of the previous ‘winners’ of the test that you are here for. He wished to come along and view the future candidates and the selection process.”

The boy looked me up and down before he gave me a disgusted look. “I see…”

The interview begins. 

I really hope he doesn’t get accepted. I mean the possibility is maybe 9% if I’m generous and, with the results of the high scorer compared to his, he would have to pull some amazing magical rabbit out of his hat to get accepted. _Especially with me here_.

After about 14 minutes had passed Watari concluded the interview, the longest one of the candidates yet.

“Thank you for your time and I wish you luck,” Watari said.

The boy started to leave before pausing at the now open door. “No offense sir,” he said, “but you seem like a man with standards. I think you should give that emo over there’s spot to someone better. Someone like me. You are not going to find anyone better in this dump for the win so I’m practically a shoe in at this point. Anyone else here can tell you that too.” He smirks and raises his head, as though to try and look down on me. 

To anyone who doesn’t know him, Watari’s face would look like he was calm. I could see, however, that Watari was mad. No, _he was furious_. 

Make that a 0% chance of acceptance and a 93% chance of a foot in the face, courtesy of me, before we leave. _I wish it was 100% but Watari might not allow it no matter how much of a jerk this kid was being._

“Thank you for the advice Mr. Shirai but we still have one more candidate from this Orphanage that we need to talk to.” Watari’s smile was strained but the boy didn’t seem to notice. He shrugged and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a final click.

As soon as the sound of the door shutting had subsided Watari’s smile fell. 

“I take it that boy just ruined his minimal chance of being accepted,” I said. I already knew what Watari’s answer would be.

“Of course. We do not accept people like that to Wammy’s.”

Watari then messaged the head lady that he was ready for the last candidate. 

A few minutes later and a small knock is heard on the door. Watari calls out for them to come in and a young boy opens the door and steps into the room.

“Hello...”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic so there will be a lot of mistakes. Feel free to leave any critiques in the comments and I hope you enjoy!
> 
> \- Diamond


End file.
